jkdj14

Hey everyone, So i just got a new 2014 Jeep JKU sport and i found out that i am going to be PCS'ing to another duty station thats about 2200 miles away. My question for you is would you keep your jeep stock (tires & suspension) for the trip or just go with the lift and tire combo that i want (3.5 rock krawler and 35s) and just deal with the worse gas mileage for the trip? I know we dont buy our jeeps for their amazing gas mileage but it sure would help with that many miles, either way i will take stops and go exploring offroad, planning to make a pretty cool road trip out of the whole thing.
Also my average mpg with stock wheels is around 17.5-18 city and 19-20 freeway. Cant complain to much with that right now.
Just wanted to get some advice on what you would do if you were in this situation.
Thanks

ronjenx

I would get used to the JK as it is, establish it's reliability, and make no changes prior to the move.
A PCS can have its own stressors. No need to add to them by making changes to the JK. Tires and suspension mods usually require other mods to address side effects. I wouldn't want to discover that on a long distance move.

smittycm

I installed my 2.5" RK Max Travel lift and 35's about 2 months before PCSing from VA to CA. No regrets at all. Had a blast on the road trip. I towed a 3000 lbs enclosed trailer the entire way and still managed 15 mpg avg. That was using manual check method, not going off the computer. I wouldn't install the lift and tires a couple weeks before your move as mentioned above, but if you have time to trouble shoot any potential issues that may pop up before the move, then I say go for it.

DadsCJ

What he said....

If there is time to trouble shoot your install and tweak the system to get your results you will have a better move. Don't forget to check CA lift restrictions and everything else they have out there as some could be strange.

Mark Doiron

He can keep his vehicle registered in his home state, should he wish. As for mods, I agree with Ron's sentiment about limiting possible problems being discovered while on the road. But, those Sport tires aren't that great. I'd be sorely tempted to pick up some Rubi take-offs. Better off-road performance while keeping the vehicle within stock parameters. Minor hit to gas mileage. Get a Pro-Cal or such to set the tire size and keep the speedometer calibrated (affects a lot of other things, too, of course). Once you're ready to upgrade to 35s, shouldn't be too much trouble to sell those.

DadsCJ

Keeping his vehicle registered or not, CA has some weird restrictions about lifts, tires out of fenders, etc. and he should look to see if he will keep getting hassled.

JKZinger

I haven't had any issues here with my lift or 37s hanging out a little bit

Mark Doiron

I've always wondered about this. I travel to CA frequently--multiple times per year. I do not set up my vehicle per CA laws. In fact, it only takes a moment to consider those who are frequent travelers of many states, and how state vehicle regs differ, to realize that mandating compliance by out of state vehicles is impractical. Therefore, I'm pretty sure his out of state registration makes all the difference. I could be wrong, but would be surprised.

jkdj14

Thanks everyone. Its sooo tempting to do it but i think i might just wait. Plus that will give me some extra time to save about a grand for whatever
I never thought about what i would do if there were problems with the lift while driving cross country that would really suck!
I only have about a month left if i was to work on it and install everything. Thats including waiting for the items to ship to me so not a very big opprotunity to dial everything in.
Also the jeep is registered in CA but im getting stationed in KY so not too worried about all the stupid CA laws and what not.

DadsCJ

I agree, some states can be a little over the top. I just thought it would be good to ask others in CA about any potential problems.

I guess it doesn't matter now as he is leaving CA and KY is a lot easier.

Good stuff here.